Courtesy
by yumahaa
Summary: It wasn't much, but it was all that he could offer. — 0096


**A/N - **This is my first KHR fic so I apologize if they're out of character. The reason I wrote for this pairing is that I think these two deserve more love, you know? I love both Enma and Chrome to death and I think they'll be a wonderful couple (even though I'm also an 1896 shipper). They'll have the cutest babies ever, omg.

This takes place after the **Inheritance Ceremony Arc**.

* * *

The boy's slender fingers played with the rag doll's long hair in his hands as he sat on the riverbank, knees tucked under his chin and eyes fixed on the pebbled ground. He was clearly deep at thought about how would he approach the quiet girl with the present, after all, he couldn't get any of his family members to do the task since she's the one that saved _his_ life and not theirs. But it's not like he didn't want to thank the girl, the boy just didn't have enough social skills and courage to give her the gift.

An empty sigh was heard from him as he found no solution out of this difficult spot and his despondent red eyes traveled to the busted-looking doll. He blamed himself for letting the toy to be in poor condition after getting beat up once again by the same group of men who terrorized him every day after school. Reaching for his tattered school bag, his hands groped around until he felt something poking at his skin. He fished out the sewing case and began stitching the loose body parts back on the doll.

_I'll just give this to her whenever she's shows up again_, he thought.

Enma didn't know where the Mist Guardian had lived so his only chance of giving this to her is when she shows up around Tsuna.

He placed the needle down and his gloomy expression didn't faltered when he examined his work's outcome. It looked even worse than before; her right arm was now thicker and shorter than her left arm and her head was now shaped like a pear rather than a button. Enma tossed the doll aside and lay on his back against the rough surface as he mentally cursed himself out for being a loser. Who would like a messed up doll like that? He had spent 3 hours at the mall yesterday looking for a present for Chrome and all that effort had now went down the drain because of his clumsiness and meek nature. So much for a mafia boss who can't even do a simple task.

"Whatever," his eyes stared impassively at the sky, "maybe she'll like it. If not then I'll just have to find another way to repay her back."

* * *

"Class, meet your new transfer student," the teacher opened the door and soon the class erupted in an uproar, mostly with its male students going on about how adorable their new classmate was.

Tsuna jumped in shock at who it was and squeaked in surprised, "Y-You're—!"

Enma raised his head at this and blinked his eyes several times to ward off his blurry vision before focusing his attention on the petite figure. Not before long, his eyes also widen in shock at the person. Looks like she was closer to his reach than he had thought.

Flustered by the attention she was attracting, Chrome turned her gaze down on her boots to avoid eye contact and tightened the grip on her bag out of embarrassment. The teacher frowned at the scene and silenced the class as he ordered the pineapple haired female to introduce herself. The girl flinched at his tone of voice but nevertheless she obeyed his commands and stuttered out her name to the class.

"C-Chrome Dokuro..." she muttered oh-so silently.

Enma was somewhat astonished by how soft and quiet her voice really was compared to the time when they fought Daemon Spade where her voice was filled with determination and hope. He quickly shook off the memory and made a note to himself that after school today he'll give her the present; however he still doesn't have a clue of how he should hand her it.

Should he just wait at the school gates until she comes out? Or would that make him seem like a stalker? Perhaps he should just do the direct approach when lunch starts; it seems easier for him.

"Take a seat behind Miss Sasagawa,"

Chrome gave a curt nod as a response and shyly made her way through the aisle, trying her best to ignore all the curious stares she received from the rest of the students. Once she sat down in her seat she flashed Tsuna a weak smile, possibly noting that she had something to tell him later on. And with that, the girl shrunk back in her seat as she waited for the lesson to begin, not noticing a certain red head keeping his eyes on her.

He raised a brow at her actions and blinked in puzzlement, "She's acting different..." Enma pointed out and glanced back at his bag where parts of the doll's black hair were sticking out. His eyes then flickered to the classroom's wall clock taking in note that lunch period will start soon and that's when he'll make his move.

* * *

When the bell rung, the students immediately rose from their seats and scattered around the classroom to their friends who were eagerly waiting for them. As mixed conversations filled up the room, Enma pulled out the crippled doll and arise from his spot, his red orbs scanned the room looking for the purple pineapple girl but as he looked around the room the third time there was no avail.

"She's not here." he mumbled, wondering where she could have gone to. Then again, she could have gone to see Tsuna and the others. "What now...?"

Placing the doll away and with bento in hand, he made up his mind to head towards the roof top to get some fresh air and enjoy his lunch in peace and quiet. And since Chrome wasn't present during lunch period, he'll just think of another way to get it to her. Maybe if he could wait until class is over and hand it over to her at the end of the day in homeroom? That might be his only last idea. As he continued his journey up the floors of stairs, he had taken notice that there were several voices coming from above and it only took him a second to realize that it was Tsuna and his family.

"—kicked you out?" the voice belonged to the Vongola's Rain Guardian.

"I-I woke up this morning and f-found a note saying 'Get out' and it came with a Namimori uniform..." Chrome's voice shakes as Enma vision her figure sulking in low spirits.

"That bastard!" he heard Gokudera punch the roof top's metal railings out of anger and with that action Tsuna squeaked in fear. "Just because he got his body back from the Vendice doesn't mean he should just kick you out!"

_They're talking about that Mukuro guy_, Enma remarked as he remembered the silver owl the teen was possessing back on the island after Daemon stole his body.

The boy forced himself up the flight of stairs and he half listened in on their conversation about Chrome's current situation. He had now figured out that she was in the shoes of a lost abandoned puppy and he felt a frown crept upon his lips, feeling pity for the girl. When he finally reached his destination Enma stared at the ajar door and swallowed a gulp down his dry throat as he froze in nervousness. Even they were his friends, they were in the middle of an important conversation and it'll just be awkward if he just waltz through. He bends down on his knees and peeked through the small opening of the door so he could get a clear view of the group. This isn't considering as eavesdropping was it? He's just wondering how the Mist Guardian was doing, that's all.

Chrome shifted uncomfortably and looked away from Tsuna's worried gaze, "Kyoko offered her place for me to stay, so..."

Reborn glanced at Ryohei for his word on it and just as expected the boxer flashed her a welcoming smile, "We'll take care of you to the EXTREME!" he complied.

A brief smile claimed the girl's lips as she heard those words and she bowed, "Thank you..."

"And of course let's not forget about the welcoming party for Chrome,"

The brunette gaped at his tutor, "W-Welcoming party?" he repeated the words lamely.

The Italian Arcobaleno ignored his student and continued on, "It'll be held at Tsuna's house tonight and everyone will be invited; both the Vongola and Simon family."

Enma snapped his head up at this and was rather surprised and pleased by the sudden (though not direct) invitation. He had never been to a party before so it'll be fun for him and the others since Tsuna's house will be lively as ever. A content grin invaded the edge of his mouth and he looked down at his untouched lunch box and then to his stomach who was growling quite loudly.

"I'll just take a few carrots..." he told himself as he began to open the box's lid, not noticing that a spider was weaving its web down in front of the boy's face until his eyes meet its gaze. Stupefied by the arachnid's sudden presence, he screamed out of fear and fell back wards down the stairs along with the bento in hand. This was certainly not his day at all.

"Did you hear that just now?" Tsuna was obviously trembling in fear while Enma could hear Gokudera was trying his best to calm him down saying that he'll protect him. Yamamoto just laughed it off and said that it sounded like an elementary school girl's cry which definitely lowered the red head's (somewhat) manly pride. Ryohei was shouting nonsense as usual though Enma couldn't quiet tell what he was spouting on about and he didn't hear a word from Chrome although he imagine her a bit shocked from the unexpected scream.

Enma took this opportunity to clean himself off and try and make his escape but he was soon caught red-handed by none other than Reborn. "You can come out now, Enma. There's no point of running away."

"E-Enma?"

The Simon Boss revealed himself by slowly opening up the door with a weak grin and a flustered face, "T-Tsuna-kun..." he meekly greeted and wiped off the remaining rice and chopped carrots from his crimson hair and uniform.

"Oi," Gokudera frowned and crossed his arms, "why were you listening in on our conversation?"

"U-Um..." He couldn't use the excuse of 'I was just passing by' because that was a stupid explanation and apparently the Sun Arcobaleno already knows his motive anyway. "I-I was going to have lunch on the roof top but I saw you guys up here and I didn't want to interrupt..." he forced out.

Yamamoto blinked and tapped his chin at the reason, "Then why didn't you go elsewhere to have lunch?"

"W-Well," a light shade of red coated Enma's face as his eyes shyly met the Mist Guardian's purple one, "C-Chrome was, uh, here and I-I—"

The female tilted her head to the side, "M-Me...?"

He felt his head nod and the male scratched his temple in humiliation as he felt every single eye on him, "I need to give you s-something after school, a-alright?" he muttered, turning his head away.

Chrome blinked a few times at this before nodding back, wondering why does the clumsy red head needs to see her in the first place and what does he have in store for her, "S-Sure..."

"I-I'll be meeting you near the river bank then..." With that, Enma turned on his heel and made a run for it since he had already ruined his chance to act cool in front of them by looking like a huge mess. Man does he feel like dying right now. And just as he thought it couldn't get worse, he tripped over his shoe lace as he was heading towards the fleet of stairs and fell down with a huge thud.

_Nice going, Loser Enma, nice..._

* * *

Enma paced back and forth on the river bed clenching the doll in his hands as he waited for the girl's arrival. School ended a while back and he had told off his family members that he'll meet up with them at Tsuna's house while he deals with Chrome. He wasn't sure if the teen had any club activities but if she does then of course it's going to be a long while until she shows up. The male stopped his tracks and exhaled out a tiresome sigh from today's event. He slapped his forehead and shook his head to ward off the painful memory but it didn't seem to work at all. Maybe Chrome didn't want to show up after all. She probably thinks lowly of him right now and will avoid ever speaking to him just like the rest of them.

He opened his palm where the doll laid in a mess, its crooked looking smile taunting him. His lips pressed together to form a thin line and his red eyes trailed away from his 'Loser Doll'.

This wasn't working out at all.

He gathered his belongings and climbed up the grassy slope, feeling discouraged as ever, "She's not going to come..." The boy will be expecting Koyo to call him a wimp and Julie to tease him once again. Letting out a final sigh at today's disappointment, he began heading towards Tsuna's house for the welcoming party.

"U-Um..." He felt someone rested their hand on his shoulder and he bounced in shock at the touch, making him lose his balance and roll down the hillside and finally into the swallow water. "A-Are you ok?"

"C-Chrome...? Is that you?"

Enma mustered all his remaining strength to pull himself out of the water. The female ran to his side, her visible eye filled with worry for her classmate. He assured her that he was fine and coughed out some of the water that was lodge down his throat. Once he was able to breathe correctly the boy thanked Chrome for meeting up with him though he felt even more embarrassed from before now that he was drenched in reeking river water.

"U-Um," she fidgeted with her small fingers and stared at his profile with a flustered face, "are you sure you don't want any help?"

"I-I'm fine..."

Chrome muttered out an 'Oh...' and nodded. The atmosphere around then silently grew awkward with each passing second and she decided to break it by cutting to the chase. "So why do you want to see me?"

Enma clenched his right fist of where the doll was and rubbed the back of his neck, "To say thank you."

"Thank you?" she said the word as if it was foreign to her ears, "What do you mean?"

"B-Back on the island you protected me from Daemon, remember?" She nodded and he continued, "Well I never got to thank you for that and it really bothered me, so thank you. Thank you for saving my life." He opened his right palm to unravel the gift and showed it to her with flushed cheeks. "Julie suggested that a gift of some sort would be good s-so I brought this doll but it got damaged w-when I got b-beat up. I-I tried to fix it b-but... I kind of screwed it up..." he forced out.

The pineapple haired girl studied the doll's unattractive appearance before sending Enma the smallest of all smiles. She gingerly took the figurine in her hands and gave it a gentle hug, despite of it being wet and smelly. Chrome shook her head in protest against what he had said and giggled softly, "No, you tried and that's enough for me. Thank you, Enma."

He was taken back by her words and actions and couldn't help but to shyly smile back. Chrome's a strong and loving girl and he admired that. Without even thinking, he grabbed her unoccupied hand, "Let's go to the party, alright? They're probably waiting for you."

Chrome blushed lightly at the contact but didn't say anything, instead, she agreed with the boy and gave a squeeze in return followed by a grin, "Y-Yeah..."

* * *

**A/N: **Hm, it sounded _way_ better in my head but I guess this will do. Remember, this is my first KHR fic so please go easy on me!


End file.
